UpSkill America aims to train 24 million frontline workers

The problem has been well-documented: America faces a serious shortage of skilled workers that threatens the nation’s ability to grow and prosper.1 In April 2015, a White House Summit convened to address the critical need to expand economic opportunity for low-wage workers and develop a more skilled workforce. UpSkill America2 is an employer-led movement to address this issue so that frontline, entry-level jobs can become stepping stones to higher-paying, mid-skill positions.

Supervisory burden analysis can bring relief to overwhelmed managers

For the past few years, we’ve been examining the trend of the overwhelmed employee and its effect on workplace productivity and engagement. Research from our Global Human Capital Trends 2015 report points to the complexity of the work environment as a contributing factor: 74 percent of surveyed business and HR leaders rate their work environment as “complex” or “highly complex” (see Simplification of work: The coming revolution). And 40 percent of American employees surveyed don’t believe it’s possible to succeed at work, make a good living, and have enough time to contribute to family and community.1 Managers responsible for supervising the work of others can be particularly strained—a phenomenon we’ve been studying and helping companies alleviate through supervisory burden analysis.

Posted by Josh Bersin on June 30, 2015. Originally published on LinkedIn.

In our research during the Global Human Capital Trends 2015 project, we found that while more than two-thirds of the companies we talked with are dealing with “the overwhelmed employee,” a similar number told us that their work environment had become “highly complex” or “complex.” When we asked companies what they were doing about this, we found that almost one-third had some type of simplification program in process.

Strengthen the ties between HR and the supply chain organization

For the third year in a row, Deloitte surveyed supply chain leaders (400 executives from global companies) to understand their most important issues and the steps they’re taking to address them. This year’s report of the survey findings, Supply Chain Talent of the Future, highlights the sweeping transformation underway in the supply chain function and the talent challenges emerging as make-or-break factors in achieving transformation goals. As in previous surveys, we see marked differences between supply chain “leaders” and “followers” in how they’re tackling both transformation and talent. This survey also highlights an interesting disparity—and a corresponding opportunity—concerning the relationship between HR and the supply chain organization. Read the full post »

Why IT professionals feel left out

Posted by Josh Bersin on May 28, 2015. Originally published on LinkedIn.

The world of IT has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Decades ago Information Technology (IT) was considered a creative and strategic profession. These individuals developed applications, integrated systems, architected data structures, and were responsible for many of the most strategic technologies in business.

Would it surprise you to know that as recently as May 2013 more than half (55 percent) of employers surveyed weren’t participating in a recruiting initiative specifically aimed at veterans?1 I find it surprising because the case for hiring veterans is so compelling—it’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do:

Team leaders should own this process

When 90 percent of 3,300 business and HR leaders surveyed don’t believe performance management is a good use of their time (see Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2015 report), a desire for change is apparent — and it’s underway. Many companies (89 percent of those same survey respondents) have recently changed or are planning to change their performance management system. Deloitte is no exception: An April 2015 Harvard Business Review article describes how we’re Reinventing Performance Management at Deloitte. We recognize that organizations differ in type of work, culture, etc. But we believe that the thinking and innovation behind the changes we’re making are what’s needed to reverse the dismal perception of performance management and transform it into the driver of business results it’s meant to be.

Where to start?

Data analytics, the science of examining raw data (coming from anywhere internally or externally) with the purpose of drawing conclusions about that information, has been a hot topic for several years. Many companies are racing to develop analytics organizations and resources within their company. Others are tentative, uncertain whether the effort will yield measurable impact, actionable results, and actual benefits.

For most companies, the first challenge of data analytics is determining where to focus to generate specific insights, given a wealth of available data. Many case studies show how a particular function delivered well-applied analytics science to the business, but what does it take to build this capability and organization? Here are four ideas to get started.

How are you keeping employees engaged and on board?

Culture and engagement issues rose sharply in prominence to become the No. 1 challenge identified in the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2015 report. Nearly nine out of 10 (87 percent) of the 3,300+ business and HR leaders surveyed consider culture and engagement issues to be “important; 50 percent say they’re “very important” — double the results in 2014. While two-thirds (66 percent) of HR respondents say they’re working on the problem by updating their retention and engagement strategy, the remainder (34 percent) report their strategy is outdated or nonexistent.

With businesses around the world citing culture and engagement as one of their top challenges (see Culture and engagement: The naked organization), office design is being considered as a multifaceted organization design solution. Companies are looking to their workplace environment not only to entice and retain talent (particularly Millennial talent) and support their employment brand but also strengthen communication, collaboration, and employee satisfaction — which could ultimately lead to improved customer service and stronger business performance. “Open plan” office designs have been around for many years, but they are enjoying a new resurgence, perhaps because they are closely associated with tech- and innovation-driven companies of all sizes — from recognized global giants to high-potential startups. But is the trend right for your organization?

Open office design is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. While design can enhance organizational efficiency and performance, it can equally impede these outcomes when floor plans do not align with a company’s culture and capabilities, or enhance employee productivity and morale.